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Indians team bus in minor accident

Indians team bus in minor accident

KANSAS CITY -- No one was hurt. No one was shot. No one was wearing go-go boots.

So when compared to the bus incident that transpired with the Tribe here in 2004, what happened Wednesday morning was pretty tame.

En route to Kauffman Stadium for the series finale against the Royals, the Indians' team bus, which carried eight players, was sideswiped by a car that hydroplaned in the rain on the Blue Parkway. After the minor accident, town cars arrived to take the players to the ballpark, and they arrived about a half-hour later than originally anticipated.

Justin Masterson, Tony Sipp, Fausto Carmona, Wyatt Toregas, Aaron Laffey, David Huff, Rafael Perez and Tomo Ohka were all on the bus, and none of them were injured. John Mirabelli, the Tribe's assistant general manager in charge of scouting, was also on the bus and unscathed.

The story ends there, but apparently the Tribe's bus luck, or lack thereof, is a running theme in these parts. In September 2004, the team bus was on a highway ramp near the ballpark after an Indians' win when a random gunshot struck pitcher Kyle Denney in the right calf.

The shot that hit Denney, who never pitched in the bigs after that '04 season, caused nothing more than a flesh wound, because Denney wore knee-high go-go boots as part of a USC cheerleader's costume he was forced to wear in an annual rookie hazing ritual. No one ever found out who fired that bullet.

Wednesday's incident had no such drama or comedic intrigue. But it's safe to assume that the Indians will board the bus in Kansas City with caution from here on out.

"Tough town," manager Eric Wedge joked.

Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.